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| Sunday, 7 August 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Red Pandas - a threatened species
Many of you may be familiar with the cute and cuddly Giant Panda from China. But, have you heard or seen another cute panda called the Red Panda which also comes from the same region? Closely related to the Giant Panda, and similar to racoons and bears, Red Pandas are found in the temperate forests in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar (Burma) and Nepal. These solitary creatures were first discovered in 1821, 48 years before the Giant Pandas were found (1869). The origin of the name 'Panda' is from the Nepalese word nigalya ponya meaning 'eater of bamboo'. Red Pandas are most active in the early mornings and late afternoons, spending most of the day, sleeping on trees. They are good at climbing trees. They use trees not only for feeding, but also to escape ground-based predators, and to sunbathe high up in the canopy during winter. Although classed as carnivores, 95 per cent of their diet consists of bamboo leaves, supplemented in the spring with bamboo shoots. Occasionally, they eat a wide variety of other food which includes berries, blossoms, fungi, seeds, acorns, eggs, young birds, small rodents and insects. Their digestive efficiency is similar to that of Giant Pandas at 24 per cent dry matter, necessitating a daily food consumption of about 30 per cent of body weight for maintenance. They can consume up to 45 per cent of their own body weight daily, by eating approximately 200,000 bamboo leaves. They spend as much as 13 hours a day searching for edible bamboo. The first known written records of the Red Pandas occur in a 13th century Chou dynasty scroll. Today these 'firefoxes' as the Chinese call them, are a threatened species. In fact, they are already extinct in four of the seven Chinese provinces in which they were previously found. The main threat is loss of habitat due to deforestation for timber, fuel and agricultural land. The demand for them as pets, in the region and their red fur for hats, and clothing, especially in China, are also causes for the decline of these creatures. Red Pandas are smaller than the Giant Pandas, weighing around 3-6 kg. They have reddish-orange fur on the body. Ears and eyes are white with black 'tear drops' running from the eyes to the throat.
Their long, bushy tails have black and white tips around them. There is not much difference between the males and the females. Like the Giant Pandas, the Red Pandas too have an extra 'thumb' which is simply an enlarged bone.There are two sub-species of Red Pandas which come from slightly different geographical areas. The females give birth to about three cubs, which are born after a three-month gestation period. The new born cubs are covered in grey fur and their eyes and ears are closed. The female pandas, use a tree hollow, branch fork, tree root, bamboo thicket or rock crevice for their den which they fashion and line with branches, leaves, moss and other plant material. They give birth mainly in June. The cubs stay with the mother for about a year or until the next litter is about to be born. The cubs mature at approximately 18 months.The lifespan of Red Pandas in the wild is not known, but in captivity, they have been recorded to live upto even 14 years! |
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